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John From and Kerri Oastler moved into their apartment two weeks ago and have been asked to move because their eight-year-old son, Logan, is autistic and makes too much noise.
Photo: David Kawai /Ottawa Citizen

An Ottawa couple and their autistic son could be evicted from their downtown condo home because another resident complained their son makes too much noise.

According to the CBC, John and Kerri From explained they moved into a second-floor condo in order to be close to a school with an autism program.

Their son, eight-year-old Logan, has a special trampoline his parent’s built for him in order to help Logan exert energy indoors. The eviction notice they received Wednesday stated that, “running and trampoline noise,” carries to nearby apartments and also shakes the walls.

The eviction notice also explained that if the noise isn’t stopped, the family has the property management’s, “blessing to look for more suitable accommodation immediately.”

The Froms feel they’re being discriminated against because of Logan’s disability but don’t dispute their son is very active and noisy.

“I have cried more on the Wednesday than I have in my whole entire life. I don’t know how else to put it. It was just mean. It just felt really, really, really mean,” said John From.

“I feel like we are being discriminated against. What if a baby with colic was here? Would that not be acceptable? Would they have to leave?” said Kerri From.

The notice states the family must vacate their condo by Oct. 30 and have been given seven days to rectify the problem. In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, the Froms stated they no longer wish to live in such a “hostile environment.”

The eviction notice, given by the building’s landlord, Gabby Horan, explained that the condominium board asked her to begin eviction proceedings after an incident where Logan got frustrated with a video game and banged his feet against his bedroom wall. Another resident in the building reportedly told Kerri From to, “get it under control.”

Karrie and John have plans to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and are currently looking for another place to live in the same area. The Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization stated all landlords are obligated to act on complaints about noise from tenants.

In an interview on Thursday, Horan explained she is working with the condo board to find a way for the family to stay in the building.

“(From) should be living in a building that has got concrete between the floors,” she said. “(From) is in a building that has got wooden joists, which means that movement, jumping up and down, all the things that are happening there will be passed on to his neighbours.”

Horan also stated the following:

“They were unaware of the extent of the disability of the child. It was never properly put forward to them.”